Solar boom gains steam on jobs front

Solar power is booming all across the nation, and an Asheville firm is in the forefront. The biggest challenges now are regulatory, not technical.

Jobs in the solar-energy field grew by nearly 20 percent in 2013 to a total of 142,698, according to The Solar Foundation. Two-thirds of the new jobs were in installation.

Solar installations produced 4.2 gigawatts of energy last year. That's as much as needed to power nearly 400,000 homes. With solar power growing and home efficiency increasing, solar's share of the market should keep trending upward.

"This is the fourth year in a row that the industry has grown," said Andrea Luecke, executive director of the foundation. "Solar continues to consistently put people back to work.

"Since we first started tracking solar jobs in 2010, it has grown by an astounding 53 percent, creating nearly 50,000 new jobs. Importantly, these jobs have remained well paid and attract highly skilled workers."

Asheville-based FLS Energy, which employs 43 and did $78 million in business last year, is poised to grow in a big way. It has obtained $30 million in capital from four investment firms.

The initial $18 million will allow FLS to build more solar photo voltaic farms, buy existing solar projects and acquire other businesses in the field.

FSL has handled such local projects as a solar thermal system for the Hilton Asheville Biltmore Park and a solar photo voltaic array on the old Haywood County landfill. But it also has branched out as far as Camp Lejeune, where it recently completed solar thermal installations on 2,000 homes for Marines.

"With our new partners, and the infusion of new working capital, we will be in a great position to expand our solar asset base as well as opening the door for potential solar developer acquisitions," said Dale Freudenberger, the CEO of FLS Energy.

One reason solar energy is booming is that costs are falling. "Cost has come down so much that we are starting to work without state-based incentives." said Lyndon Rive, CEO of SolarCity. "Incentives in many states like California and Arizona have essentially disappeared, and yet the adoption has never been higher."

Solar power dilutes the reach of the regulated monopolies that dominate the power industry, and that bothers some people. The American Legislative Exchange Council wants regulators to reduce the payments utilities make for buying excess power from rooftop solar units.

The British newspaper The Guardian reported last month "For 2014, ALEC plans to promote a suite of model bills and resolutions aimed at blocking Barack Obama from cutting greenhouse gas emissions, and state governments from promoting the expansion of wind and solar power through regulations known as Renewable Portfolio Standards."

John Eick, the legislative analyst for ALEC's energy, environment and agriculture program, characterized the situation of individual homeowners feeding surplus electricity back into the grid as "freeriding.'' There's talk of charging homeowners for feeding power into the grid.

Eick told the Guardian, "As it stands now, those direct generation customers are essentially freeriders on the system. They are not paying for the infrastructure they are using. In effect, all the other non direct generation customers are being penalized.''

It's a curious argument. It certainly runs counter to the "dependency'' drum we hear banging away in public discourse. If people take the action (and expense) to take a step toward energy independence, lower their bills and help the environment along the way, they shouldn't be penalized for it.

Solar power has a bright future, pun intended, both nationally and in Asheville. The only cloud in sight is harmful actions by politicians and regulators. Those people should remember their first duty is to the people.

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Solar boom gains steam on jobs front

Solar power is booming all across the nation, and an Asheville firm is in the forefront. The biggest challenges now are regulatory, not technical.